Welcome!

Friday November 12th

Elena S. Smith, PhD
Intensive American Language Center, Washington State University

Title: The Three Crowns in the ESL World

Elena Smith’s “Three Crowns” presentation represents the synthesis of her thirty years of teaching experience with information gleaned from numerous contemporary studies in the ESL field. She will talk about three important pedagogical components: the teacher’s role, student involvement and use of art and graphics in a successful ESL teaching/learning process. By understanding the three elements and their proper integration, a teacher may create a “mutual support language,” which is non-existent in ESL classrooms, to promote a more effective mastery of the English language by non English speakers.

Elena S. Smith –uessmith@wsu.edu

http://www.ip.wsu.edu/ialc/

Elena Smith received her Doctorate in English Linguistics from St. Petersburg State University and holds a master's degree in Philology in German languages from the same university. She has taught in the field in Russia, Finland, Japan, and the U.S. A., teaching at Washington State University since 2000. Elena is the Past-President of The Washington Association for the Education of Speakers of Other Languages (WAESOL) Board. She has presented at numerous conferences for ESL instructors. She is an author of a documentary/fiction novel Why Birches Are White.

Saturday, November 13th

David Burke

BIO:
David Burke, producer and partner of Cosmic Toast Studios, has
always had a love for music and has trained as a classical pianist
since the age of four. He learned how to read notes before words. Eventually he did
learn words, and decided to write a book… and then another… and another. He
currently has over 60 published award-winning books sold in
bookstores worldwide via his own company, Slangman Publishing.
His prowess as an author got him a regular gig on Voice of America radio, broadcasting to
90 million devout listeners who bestowed upon him the name “Slangman.” Staying
ahead of the curve, his natural progression was to delve into the entertainment
biz, where he currently hosts a new animated TV show on PBS called Slangman’sWorld. The 20 years of piano lessons paid off he’s also the composer for the show -- as well as lyricist, arranger, music
director, writer, and producer.

David’s favorite quote: “A sweater is something you wear when your mother is cold.”

ABSTRACT:
“SLIPPING IN SLANG” – Know it or risk embarrassment!

“Slangman” David Burke (International TV show host and author of the Street Speak, -Spanish, - French and -Italian slang/idioms series) gives an informative & hilarious presentation on the importance of teaching slang & idioms –
those pesky, confusing, everyday terms which must be learned
to avoid embarrassment, steer clear of costly (and downright funny) mistakes in business, achieve true fluency, and open the doors to American culture.